Big Sky Musings

I hit Big Sky this past week with the ladies from theSkiDiva.com, and while there wasn’t any new snow (story of this winter), it was a blast. I’ve been meaning to ski Big Sky ever since my former roommate Jen said she was headed there with her family a few years ago. So when Wendy chose Big Sky as the location for this year’s Diva Week West, I jumped at the chance.

Ski Divas and friends ski the Bowl below Lone Peak.

Things I learned from this week:

Skiing with people you know primarily – if not only – from the interwebs gets better every year. And it’s a lot easier than online dating. You’re already communicating with each other on an online message forum, so you can kind of tell who meshes with your personality and who’s nutso. If your Spidey senses tell you that someone is creepy, then maybe you should trust your Spidey senses.

It’s possible for 3 advanced skiers with poor communication skills to take out 4 ski patrollers while unloading from a chair lift. It’s also hilarious, particularly when no one gets hurt.

It also possible to pack EVERYTHING (except skis and boots) into a carryon! Even my helmet. Another minor miracle. I stuffed socks and undies into my ski boots and bought full-size shampoos and saline solution after arriving. On the way home, I packed the liquids into my ski SportTube. I had a very short wardrobe rotation. Sorry roommates.

The last 10 feet of the tram ride to Lone Peak makes me nervous. The tram slows to a crawl and inches up a rock wall to its terminal. And by up, I mean vertical. Eek. Luckily, the tram was packed the first time I rode up, so I didn’t have to watch this.

In the tram.

Booking a flight through Chicago in February was stupid. In light of snow showers yesterday, O’Hare was limiting plane landings, so my 12:55 pm flight didn’t take off from Bozeman until closer to 4:30 pm. Then my connecting flight to DC also left an hour late. And to top it off, the shuttle dropped me off at the Bozeman airport at 10:30 am. I spent some quality time in front of the fireplace at the Bozeman airport.

I am no more than 2 degrees separated from everyone in Seattle. Really. Skiers from Seattle showed up at the Sunday night meet and greet, and being from DC and only knowing how to communicate by networking, I immediately played the name game. And found a connection right off the bat.

The town of Big Sky kind of looks like a movie set. See? Just like the set of the Truman Show.

Finally, I’m stoked for my backcountry ski trip in the Wallowas next month. Big Sky was a great tuneup!